The war is not meant to be won; it is meant to be continuous. - George Orwell, 1984 On July 8th, a corruption complaint was filed with Belgian federal prosecutor Ann Fransen, targeting nine members of the Tshisekedi family for systematic pillaging of mining sites in Haut-Katanga and Lualaba provinces. Filed by Katangese NGOs and four former Gécamines directors, the complaint alleges that tens of millions of euros are diverted monthly from state coffers by the presidential family and their associates. Gécamines is a mining company based in Katanga. The stolen funds flow through Saudi Arabia and Mauritius for money laundering, with millions of dollars as the standard unit of theft. This corruption matters in the context of Genocaust – a term coined by the Congolese people to describe their systematic suffering. Kinshasa blamed Rwanda for this Genocaust, but the paper trails all point to the DR Congo power brokers. The very same who caused and created this war in the east as a means to deflect blame and use conflict for political gain. Three days after DR Congo and Rwanda signed the Washington peace agreement, Tshisekedi's army launched drones over Minembwe, destroying a civilian aircraft carrying humanitarian aid. Sixty thousand troops were deployed. Foreign mercenaries – Colombian, Romanian, and whatever else money could buy – were welcomed back. The government began its favorite ritual: pretending the FDLR didn't exist. Peace was signed. And then the bombs dropped. For Tshisekedi, war isn't a failure. It's the only thing that works. The Brussels complaint reveals why: illegal mining exploitation brings colossal sums to the presidential family and their criminal enterprise. War provides the perfect cover for this systematic theft, keeping the population distracted while billions disappear. Four years ago, Tshisekedi had a problem: he lacked legitimacy, popularity, and performance. So he partnered with the FDLR – remnants of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. He armed them, integrated them into his army, and let them continue their reign of terror in eastern Congo. He knew what would come next: Rwanda would defend itself, M23 would re-emerge to protect their communities. And when they did, Tshisekedi simply blamed them. This wasn’t just manipulation. It was criminally irresponsible. Rather than face this mirror, Tshisekedi began singing Congolese lullabies. He helped his people sleep through the injustice of corrupt leadership by telling tales of the ‘evil’ Rwandans. By whispering the right accusations, his entire population would focus on an imaginary gold speck in their neighbor's eye instead of the massive golden beam on their president's wrist. The authors of these pillages have infiltrated all levels of the state apparatus and neutralized justice and law enforcement, making local prosecution impossible. Those who dare speak face a real hunt conducted by military and security agents, mainly from Kasaï – Tshisekedi's home province. This is why Tshisekedi needs perpetual war. Rwanda sits next door – clean, functional, and forward-looking. A daily reminder of what leadership can actually look like. That's a threat to a system where the presidential family has turned the state into a criminal enterprise. FDLR became Tshisekedi's final ingredient for maintaining power. He arms and integrates these foreign aggressors – the real and only foreign aggressors in the east – FDLR tropical Nazis – then turns around and blames Rwanda for the very insecurity he orchestrates. Say it loud enough, say it often enough, and Rwanda becomes the problem. Not the corruption. Not the systematic state pillaging of DR Congo’s wealth. When the Congolese people cried Genocaust, they were naming a system that traded their blood for someone else's billion-dollar technology. A system where tens of millions of euros are diverted from state coffers monthly while they suffer. A system with Tshisekedi at the center. The Washington peace agreement was supposed to change everything. Instead, it revealed everything. Within days, Tshisekedi showed his true priorities: not peace, but the preservation of a system that has made his family rich while his people suffer. The Brussels complaint isn't just about stolen money – it's about stolen lives. Every dollar laundered through Saudi Arabia and Mauritius is a school that won't be built, a hospital that won't open, a life that won't be saved. This war was never about DR Congo's people – it was about power, profit, and performance. But the paper trail doesn't lie. The evidence is clear about who, what, and where. When these people leave power, what was stolen can be recovered. And neither do the bombs that fell three days after peace was signed.
